New leaders are in full-learning mode. They have lots of questions. Your job is to provide them with a place they are comfortable seeking answers.
You promoted them because they were rock stars. You were happy to give them the new responsibilities. They were happy to have earned them.
Now what?
Doing the job and leading others to do the job are completely different animals. You’ve just turned your rock star into a newbie.
Being in that position isn’t easy. Your new leaders quickly discover that the new job is full of problems they have no idea how to solve, but solve them they must.
So how do you best help them?
Option 1: Mentor Them Yourself
Perhaps you offer to serve as their mentor. That’s a nice offer on your part, but it comes with three challenges:
- You’re already busy. Giving each new leader the time he/she needs is going to keep you from attending to everything else that’s already on your plate.
- That whole Yoda thing isn’t in your wheelhouse. Acting as a teacher/mentor/coach requires some specialized skill. What if you’re not that good at it?
- Your new managers aren’t that comfortable telling you what they don’t know. They want you to feel confident about them. They want you to still think they are rock stars. Learning often begins by admitting what you don’t know. Most people don’t want to do that with their bosses.
Option 2: Tell Them to Talk to HR
Assuming you have generalists on staff who have time to do this, it’s an option with potential. The problem is that in small companies, there are only 1-2 HR people, and they already have their hands full with recruiting, benefits admin, and employee relations troubleshooting.
Plus, your new managers have to see those HR people around the office everyday and may not feel comfortable telling coworkers that they need help.
Option 3: Send them to Training
This is the safest option. Everyone feels comfortable. The problem is that it’s just not that effective.
Think about sitting through the typical 3-5 day session: Everything You Ever Needed to Know About How to Succeed as a Manager. Your new leaders will be exposed to a ton of useful ideas, and then will proceed to forget most of what they learned and implement even less.
A Better Option: LeaderLine
Learning works best when it addresses an immediate need. I have a problem. I find a solution. I apply it. Success!
Once a person successfully solves a problem, that know-how tends to stick and can be readily accessed when a similar problem shows up again.
An example would be when something breaks around my house. I’d like to take a whack at fixing it myself, but don’t know how. My next step is to find a “how-to” video on YouTube, and the next thing you know I’ve solved the problem.
The difficulty with most leadership problems is that they don’t lend themselves to a cut and dry video solution. There’s usually plenty of context that needs to be considered and nuance that can’t be ignored.
LeaderLine is a resource your new leaders can access to talk through their leadership challenges. It’s confidential, so they don’t have to worry about the boss or a coworker finding out what they don’t know.
When new managers struggle, they can access LeaderLine to talk through the situation with a coach who will help them:
- Analyze the situation
- Identify options
- Evaluate those options
- Establish the game plan
In addition the coach can provide some just-in-time skill development for key concepts the leader will need in order to implement the plan. Examples include:
- Setting clear expectations
- Establishing goals
- Developing relationships
- Planning and leading a meeting
- Managing multiple priorities
- Delivering performance feedback
- Communicating a change
- Mediating conflict
- Saying no
- Building engagement
- Fostering teamwork
Invest in Your New Leaders
We offer the service in two formats:
- Just-in-Time
- Mentoring Relationship
Just-In-Time
At any time a leader may have a question or is just looking for a sounding board who isn’t the boss or a member of the HR team.
In this situation, you can offer the person access to the LeaderLine service.
To make it easy for your leaders to access this service, you purchase a package of sessions that anyone in the organization can use. Then you promote the service to whoever you think it will benefit, and we’ll take care of tracking the usage.
This limits the concerns leaders might have if they need to check in with you before accessing the service. If they can use the service anonymously, they’ll feel more comfortable reaching out for help.
Discounts are available based on the number of sessions you purchase. Also, we offer additional discounts for charitable non-profits.
Mentoring Relationship
This is a coaching package that occurs over 6-12 months for one person. The person is assigned a mentor, and they work together on goals that the leader wants to address. Those goals may be set with input from the leader’s manager.